It is well known to apply coatings to the surface of a body so as to obtain surface properties which differ from those of the body. This may be done to achieve a variety of improvements, such as increased toughness, high temperature capability, oxidation resistance, wear resistance, and corrosion resistance. By providing surface coatings of the appropriate characteristics, it is possible to substantially lower the cost of an article built to specific property requirements. For example, ceramics have frequently been utilized to provide a surface coating over a less temperature resistant metallic article to permit use of that article in higher temperature environments. In addition, ceramic materials are frequently utilized to provide enhanced strength in metal matrix composites by inclusion in the form of powders, fibers, and whiskers. There is also a need for ceramic fibers for use in metal matrix composites, particularly those fibers comprising oxides, mixed oxides, or doped oxides, which fibers serve as reinforcing elements.
In the past, various processes have been used to deposit ceramic materials upon a substrate. These include the application of glazes, enamels, and coatings; hot-pressing materials at elevated pressure and temperature; and vapor deposition processes such as evaporation, cathodic sputtering, chemical vapor deposition, flame spraying, and plasma spraying. In addition, electrophoresis has been attempted, as have other specialized techniques, with limited success in application.
For example, the enamelling industry has used the electrodeposition of ceramic materials for some time. In the application of a ceramic coating by this technique, a ceramic material is milled or ground to a small particulate or powder size, placed into suspension, and electrophoretically deposited on the substrate. Another traditional method is the deposition of a ceramic coating from a slurry made up of a powder in suspension, usually in an aqueous medium. A major problem with these techniques is that powder particle sizes below about 2 microns were difficult to obtain, thus limiting the quality of coatings produced, as well as the possibility of application to a wire or fibrous substrate.
Sol-gel technology has recently evolved as a source of very fine sub-micron ceramic particles of great uniformity. Such sol-gel technology comprises essentially the preparation of ceramics by low temperature hydrolysis and peptization of metal oxide precursors in solution, rather than by the sintering of compressed powders at high temperatures.
In the prior art, much attention has been given to the preparation of sols of metal oxides (actually metal hydroxide or metal hydrate) by hydrolysis and peptization of the corresponding metal alkoxide, such as aluminum sec-butoxide [Al(OC.sub.4 H.sub.9).sub.3 ], in water, with an acid peptizer such as hydrochloric acid, acetic acid, nitric acid, and the like. The hydrolysis of aluminum alkoxides is discussed in an article entitled "Alumina Sol Preparation from Alkoxides" by Yoldas, in American Ceramic Society Bulletin Vol. 54, No. 3 (1975), pages 289-290. This article teaches the hydrolysis of aluminum alkoxide precursor with a mole ratio of water:precursor of 100:1, followed by peptization at 90.degree. with 0.07 moles of acid per mole of precursor. After gelling and drying, the dried gel is calcined to form alumina powder.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,532,072, of Segal, an alumina sol is prepared by mixing cold water and aluminum alkoxide in stoichiometric ratio, allowing them to react to form a peptizable aluminum hydrate, and peptizing the hydrate with a peptizing agent in an aqueous medium to produce a sol of an aluminum compound.
In Clark et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,801,399, a method for obtaining a metal oxide sol is taught whereby a metal alkoxide is hydrolysed in the presence of an excess of aqueous medium, and peptized in the presence of a metal salt, such as a nitrate, so as to obtain a particle size in the sol between 0.0001 micron and 10 microns.
In Clark et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,921,731, a method is taught for ceramic coating a substrate, such as a wire, by thermophoresis of sols of the type prepared by the method of U.S. Pat. No. 4,801,399. In addition, Clark et al, in abandoned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 06/841,089, filed Feb. 25, 1986, teach formation of ceramic coatings on a substrate, including filaments, ribbons, and wires, by electrophoresis of such sols. However, the examples of this application indicate that the coatings obtained using electrophoresis were uneven, cracked, and contained voids or bubbles, and often peeled, flaked off, and/or pulled apart. Throughout, the evolution of hydrogen bubbles at the cathode during electrophoresis was noted.
It is thus seen that a need exists for ceramic fibers produced by the electrophoretic deposition of thick ceramic coatings on a filament, fiber tow, or wire substrate. There is a particular need for a method for the preparation of ceramic fibers for use as reinforcing elements in metal matrix composites.